Portable toilet

ABSTRACT

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a portable toilet is disclosed. The portable toilet includes a pan; a seat secured to a rim of the pan; and a liner disposed within an interior area of the pan, the liner having a draw member configured to seal the liner in response to a user pulling thereof, at least a portion of the draw member pullable through an opening to an exterior of the pan to seal the liner while a remaining portion of the liner remains within the pan.

BACKGROUND

Many times, restroom facilities are unavailable when needed (e.g., whentraveling, on a camping excursion, etc.). Portable toilets are one typeof device that may be used in these situations.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure a portable toilet isdisclosed. According to one embodiment, the portable toilet comprises apan; a seat secured to a rim of the pan; and a liner disposed within aninterior area of the pan, the liner having a draw member configured toseal the liner in response to a user pulling thereof, at least a portionof the draw member pullable through an opening to an exterior of the panto seal the liner while a remaining portion of the liner remains withinthe pan.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a portabletoilet includes a pan; a seat secured to an upper periphery of the pan;and a liner fixedly secured within the pan, where the liner comprises adraw member extending through an opening in a sidewall of the pan, andwhere the draw member is pullable from an exterior of the pan to sealthe liner across an upper portion of the pan.

According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, aportable toilet includes a pan; a liner secured to an interior area ofthe pan; and a seat secured to an upper periphery of the pan and havingan aperture providing access to the liner; and where the liner issealable within the pan in response to pulling a draw member of theliner from an exterior of the pan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present application, theobjects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the followingdescriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a portable toilet according to thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exploded assembly view of theportable toilet illustrated in FIG. 1 according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a section view of the portable toiletillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a section view of the portable toiletillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the portable toilet of FIG. 1 aftersealing of a liner of the portable toilet according to the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a portable toiletaccording to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a portable toilet 10in accordance with the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a diagramillustrating an exploded assembly view of toilet 10 of FIG. 1. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, toilet 10 includes a pan 12, liner 14and a seat 16. In FIG. 1, toilet 10 is configured having a generallytriangular shape; however, it should be understood that toilet 10 may beformed having other geometric shapes (e.g., elliptical, circular, etc.).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, pan 12 includes a solidor apertureless bottom wall 20 and a sidewall 22 extending upwardly frombottom wall 20 toward a rim or upper periphery 24 of pan 12. Sidewall 22extends upwardly from bottom wall 20 to form a cavity 26 in an interiorarea 28 of pan 12 for receiving liner 14 therein. In the illustratedembodiment, sidewall 22 includes a recess 30 located at an anteriorposition 32 along upper periphery 24 to enable a portion of liner toextend from interior area 28 of pan 12 to an area exterior to pan 12.However, it should be understood that recess 30 may be positionedelsewhere on pan 12 (e.g., along a posterior edge 34 of upper periphery24, along a lateral edge 36 of upper periphery 24, or elsewhere). In theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, recess 30 is located alongupper periphery 24 of pan 12 to facilitate sealing of liner 14 at ornear and extending across upper periphery 24 of pan 12 (e.g., as will bedescribed in further detail below, a portion of liner 14 extends throughan opening formed by recess 30); however, it should be understood thatrecess 30 and/or an opening to facilitate the extension of liner 14 tothe exterior of pan 12 may be otherwise located along sidewall 22.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, seat 16 is formed having an aperture 40 to enableaccess therethrough toward interior area 28 of pan 12 (e.g., towardliner 14). Seat 16 is generally formed having a periphery 42 shaped tocorrespond to a shape of upper periphery 24 of pan 12. Seat 16 includesa planar upper surface or portion 44 to support a user of toilet 10.However, it should be understood that upper portion 44 may be otherwiseshaped and/or configured. In some embodiments, seat 16 is permanently orfixedly secured to pan 12 to prevent or substantially prevent removaltherefrom; however, it should be understood that in some embodiments,seat 16 may be releasably secured to pan 16 (e.g., using tabs, hooks,snap-fit elements, etc.). In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2, an anterior location 46 includes a recess 48 positioned to correspondto recess 30 formed in pan 12 such that the interface of pan 12 and seat16 at the locations of recesses 30 and 48 for an opening for a portionof liner 14 to extend therethrough to an exterior of pan 12. It shouldbe understood that recess 48 may be otherwise located on seat 16 tocorrespond to a position of recess 30 on pan 12. It should also beunderstood that an opening for liner 14 to extend from interior area 28of pan 12 to an exterior of pan 12 may be otherwise configured (e.g.,residing solely in pan 12, residing solely along a portion of seat 16,etc.).

Liner 14 is generally formed having a shape to correspond to the shapeof interior area 28 of pan 12 to facilitate liner 14 lying along anupper interior surface of bottom wall 20 and extending upwardly along aninterior surface of sidewall 22 toward upper periphery 24. In someembodiments, liner 14 is formed of a waterproof material (e.g., plastic)having an inner hydrophilic lining material (e.g., a polymer) for fluidabsorption. Liner 14 may also be formed of biodegradable materials that,in some embodiments, provide at least some period of fluid resistance toprevent leakage of fluids therethrough. In the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, liner 14 includes a draw member 52 to facilitate sealingof an upper portion of liner 14. For example, in some embodiments, drawmember 52 includes a tab 54 coupled to a drawstring extending along aninner cavity of an upper periphery 56 of liner 14. As will be describedand illustrated in further detail below, a portion of liner 14 (e.g., aportion of tab 54) extends through an opening formed by recesses 30 and48 to enable liner 14 to be sealed from an exterior of pan 12. In FIGS.1 and 2, pan 12 also includes a handle 60 to facilitate positioningand/or transport of toilet 10. Handle 60 may be formed of anyconfiguration or shape and be located at anterior position 32, aposterior position, a lateral position, or elsewhere on toilet 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a section view of portable toilet 10illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, andFIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a section view of portable toilet 10illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1. As bestillustrated in FIG. 3, an opening 70 is formed at an interface betweenseat 16 and pan 12 proximate to the locations of recesses 30 and 48 tofacilitate a portion of liner 14 (e.g., tab 54) to extend therethroughfrom interior area 28 of pan 12 to an area exterior to pan 12. Drawmember 52 includes a drawstring 72 coupled to tab 54 such that pullingtab 54 from the exterior of pan 12 causes drawstring 72 to be cinched ortightened in a similar direction, thereby enabling the sealing of anupper portion of liner 14. In some embodiments, sidewall 22 of pan 12includes a protrusion 74 extending about an inner periphery 76 of pan12, and a recess 78 extending about upper periphery 24 of pan 12 betweenprotrusion 74 and an outer edge 80 of pan 12. Recess 78 is formed tofacilitate storage therein of additional and/or excess material of liner14 such that, in response to pulling of tab 54 in the directionindicated by arrow 82, the excess material of liner 14 residing inrecess 78 is extracted therefrom to facilitate the extension of liner 14across upper periphery 24 of pan 12 (e.g., extending across aperture 40of seat 16) to seal liner 14. It should be understood that recess 78 maybe otherwise located in pan 12 to facilitate storage therein ofadditional or excess liner 14 material (e.g., along in interior surfaceof sidewall 22) or a storage area for excess liner 14 material may beprovided in seat 16 (e.g., a recess in seat 16 opening toward interiorarea 28 of pan 12).

In some embodiments, liner 14 is permanently or fixedly secured withinpan 12 such that pulling tab 54 enables sealing of liner 14 from an areaexterior to pan 12 while liner 14 remains fixed within interior area 28of pan 12. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4,a portion of liner 14 is secured between seat 16 and an upper surface 86of sidewall 22 at an interface location 88. Liner 14 may be secured topan 12 using adhesive, by fusing or welding, or otherwise. In someembodiments, liner 14 is secured at interface 88 as a result of seat 16being permanently or fixedly attached to pan 16 (i.e., to prevent orsubstantially prevent disassembly thereof). For example, seat 16 may besecured to pan 12 by adhesive, fusion welding, or otherwise. Thus, insome embodiments, securing seat 16 to pan 12 may retain a portion ofliner 14 therebetween, thereby preventing or substantially preventingliner 14 from being removed from pan 12.

It should be understood that in some embodiments, liner 14 may beotherwise disposed within interior area 28 of pan 12 to facilitateextension of liner 14 across upper periphery 24 and across aperture 40to seal liner 14. For example, in some embodiments, excess liner 14material may reside in folds, be tacked together, or otherwise bepositioned in a generally stationary manner along an inner surface ofsidewall 22 to facilitate extension thereof across pan 12 in response topulling of tab 54 in the direction 82.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating portable toilet 10 after sealing ofliner 14. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, draw member 52 hasbeen pulled outwardly away from toilet 10 (e.g., after use of toilet10), thereby causing drawstring 72 to pull an upper portion of liner 14toward opening 70 to facilitate drawstring 72 being tied off, secured,or otherwise cinched and thereby sealing liner 14. Thus, in someembodiments, in the sealed position, an upper portion of liner 14extends across cavity 26 along upper periphery 24 of pan 12 and acrossaperture 40 of seat 16, thereby closing aperture 40 and facilitatingdisposal of toilet 10. In some embodiments, seat 16 and pan 12 (as wellas liner 14) are formed from biodegradable materials (e.g., paperboard,biodegradable fiber, UV-degradable and/or corn-based plastic, etc.) tofacilitate the disposal and degradation of toilet 10 after use.Materials used to form seat 16 and pan 12 are preferably of rigid orsemi-rigid form to facilitate shape retention as well as support theweight of a user of toilet 10.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of portable toilet10 according to the present disclosure (e.g., illustrated in sectionview such as along 4-4 of FIG. 1). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.6, a portion of liner 14 is secured between seat 16 and upper surface 86of sidewall 22. For example, in this embodiment, upper surface 86 ofsidewall 22 is configured having a generally planar configurationextending from interior area 28 to outer edge 80 of pan 12 (e.g.,omitting recess 78). Liner 14 may be secured to pan 12 and/or seat 16using adhesive, by fusing or welding, or otherwise. In some embodiments,liner 14 is secured between seat 16 and pan 12 as a result of seat 16being attached to pan 12. For example, seat 16 may be secured to pan 12by adhesive, fusion welding, snap-fit elements, or otherwise. Thus, insome embodiments, securing seat 16 to pan 12 may retain a portion ofliner 14 therebetween, thereby preventing or substantially preventingliner 14 from being removed from pan 12. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 6, a portion of liner 14 extends beyond interface 88 betweenseat 16 and pan 12 to facilitate secure attachment of liner 14therebetween; however, it should be understood that the positioning ofliner 14 at interface 88 may be otherwise configured.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, a portion of liner 14 extendsfrom interface 88 into a portion of interior area 28 of pan 12 adjacentan interior surface 90 of seat 16 to facilitate extension of liner 14across pan 12 in a sealed state. For example, in FIG. 6, a portion ofliner 14 containing drawstring 72 is releasable secured to surface 90 ofseat 16 (e.g., using a releasable adhesive or otherwise). Additional orexcess liner 14 material 92 may be folded, pleated or otherwise retainedwithin an outer periphery of interior area 28. In operation, in responseto a user pulling draw member 52, liner 14 is released from attachmentto seat 16, thereby enabling drawstring 72 to pull liner 14 across theupper portion of interior area 28 and seal liner 14. Thus, in thisembodiment, liner 14 remains within pan 12 while enabling sealing ofliner 14 after use. It should be understood that another portion ofliner (e.g., other than a portion containing drawstring 72) may bereleasably secured to surface 90 of seat 16. Further, liner 14 may beconfigured having a reinforced portion at such location to preventdamage to liner 14 upon pulling of draw member 52.

Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a portable toiletthat is convenient and easy to use, is sealable as a unit, and that canbe easily disposed of after use. Accordingly, the portable toilet 10 ofthe present disclosure may be stored in a car, easily transported fromplace to place in a concealed manner if desired, used and discarded. Insome embodiments, the various components of toilet 10 are assembled toform a unit that substantially impedes disassembly thereof, therebyresulting in a more sanitary use thereof by preventing re-use of toilet10.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A portable toilet, comprising: a pan; a seat secured to a rim of thepan; and a liner disposed within an interior area of the pan, the linerhaving a draw member configured to seal the liner in response to a userpulling thereof, at least a portion of the draw member pullable throughan opening to an exterior of the pan to seal the liner while a remainingportion of the liner remains within the pan.
 2. The portable toilet ofclaim 1, wherein at least a portion of the liner is secured between thepan and the seat.
 3. The portable toilet of claim 1, wherein the drawmember comprises a drawstring extending around an upper periphery of theliner.
 4. The portable toilet of claim 1, wherein the pan comprises arecess disposed at an upper end of a sidewall of the pan, the recessforming the opening for the draw member.
 5. The portable toilet of claim1, wherein the liner comprises a waterproof liner having a hydrophilicmaterial for fluid absorption.
 6. The portable toilet of claim 1,wherein the opening is disposed between the pan and the seat.
 7. Theportable toilet of claim 1, wherein the pan and the seat are formed ofbiodegradable materials.
 8. The portable toilet of claim 1, wherein theseat is permanently secured to the pan.
 9. A portable toilet,comprising: a pan; a seat secured to an upper periphery of the pan; anda liner fixedly secured within the pan, the liner comprising a drawmember extending through an opening in a sidewall of the pan, the drawmember pullable from an exterior of the pan to seal the liner across anupper portion of the pan.
 10. The portable toilet of claim 9, whereinthe opening is disposed at an interface between the sidewall of the panand the seat.
 11. The portable toilet of claim 9, wherein the linercomprises a waterproof liner having a hydrophilic material for fluidabsorption.
 12. The portable toilet of claim 9, wherein the liner isfixedly secured about a periphery of the pan.
 13. The portable toilet ofclaim 9, wherein at least a portion of the liner is secured between anupper periphery of the pan and the seat.
 14. The portable toilet ofclaim 9, wherein at least a portion of the liner is releasably securedto an interior surface of the seat.
 15. The portable toilet of claim 9,wherein the draw member comprises a drawstring extending around aperiphery of the liner.
 16. A portable toilet, comprising: a pan; aliner secured to an interior area of the pan; and a seat secured to anupper periphery of the pan and having an aperture providing access tothe liner; and wherein the liner is sealable within the pan in responseto pulling a draw member of the liner from an exterior of the pan. 17.The portable toilet of claim 16, wherein the pan comprises anapertureless bottom wall and a sidewall extending upwardly from thebottom wall to the seat, and wherein the sidewall comprises an openingto enable the draw member to extend from the liner in the interior ofthe pan to the exterior of the pan.
 18. The portable toilet of claim 16,wherein a portion of the liner is secured to an interior surface of theseat and releasable from the interior surface of the seat in response topulling of the draw member to seal the liner.
 19. The portable toilet ofclaim 16, wherein the liner is fixedly secured about the upper peripheryof the pan.
 20. The portable toilet of claim 19, wherein pulling thedraw member seals the liner across an upper interior portion of the panand extending across the aperture of the seat.